Double red flags for several dozen Maine bridges

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - The Maine Department of Transportation insists all state-owned bridges are safe despite a survey indicating dozens of them have multiple red flags.

Maine DOT bridge guro Chip Getchell says he has no trouble sleeping at night. But many bridges demand his attention.

An Associated Press review of federal bridge records found that there are more than 65,000 structurally deficient bridges nationwide and more than 20,000 that are classified as "fracture critical" because failure of a single component could cause a collapse.

In Maine, the survey found 47 that fall into both categories.

Getchell said the state pays extra attention to fracture critical bridges, inspecting them every year even though the federal standard requires an inspection every two years.

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